I’ve wondered about something in sports for a while now, and it just happened again and left me massaging my temples. When heaping praise upon one individual, you don’t need to disparage another in the process of doing so.
The Miami Heat opened the season last Thursday by throttling the Milwaukee Bucks, 137-95. Tyler Herro led all scorers with 27 points. After the game, Herro was asked about what it’s like playing with new point guard Kyle Lowry.
“I love playing with Kyle,” Herro told Sports Illustrated. “My first two years in the league I didn’t really have a point guard that could get everyone organized to their spots. That’s no knock on my previous teammates. It’s just the way that Kyle gets everyone to their spots, how he’s a leader. He just understands the game in a way that not many people do. Just being next to him is obviously amazing for me.”
So, it’s no knock to any previous teammates, says Herro. Although he obviously knew it would be perceived that way, so he gave himself an out. Why even go there in the first place? With so many different words in the English language, I’m sure Herro could have found another way to say Kyle Lowry is great. One that doesn’t crap on the skills of a former teammate. Goran Dragić. Dragic was the primary point guard for the Heat the previous two seasons that Herro is referring to. No, he didn’t call any specific name, but anyone that follows the NBA will think of Dragić.
This is becoming more and more prevalent in professional sports each year. Player ‘A’ is asked a question about player ‘B’ but “unintentionally” takes a jab at player ‘C’ while complimenting ‘B’. The entire song and dance feels so unnecessary. It sounds like Herro wasn’t getting the ball in the spots he prefers on the court during his first two years with the Heat. I just hope he actually had a talk with his point guard or coach at the time all this was going on.
It’s like beginning a statement with the phrase, “no disrespect, but” or “with all due respect.” You already know the next thing out of that person’s mouth is likely to be some disrespectful shit, as it seldom fails.
And maybe Herro didn’t have Dragić in mind when answering the question. His jab could have been aimed at Kendrick Nunn, who now plays with the Lakers. Nunn played in and started quite a few games (67) during the 2019-20 pandemic interrupted season for Miami. Either way, Herro tapped one of his former backcourt mates on the chin with his comments.
Tyler better be careful; those dudes are still in the league. Herro is going to cross paths again with them at some point. He’s just gotta be easy with the sneak disses. Eventually, the receipts from those sneak disses can sneak back around and catch you slipping when you least expect it.